Any new leader of the English Conservative Party has to go through the comparison with former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Especially if she is a woman. Theresa May, Tory leader and prime minister during the Brexit negotiation, did not put up with the comparison for long. Her one nation conservatism was a return to the paternalism of Edward Heath and Iain Macleod that Thatcher, precisely, had defeated. This is probably not the case for Liz Truss.
Comparison with Margaret Thatcher
Of course, to be "a new Thatcher" it is simply not enough to believe in just classical liberalism; it is necessary to have other political qualities that the new Tory leader, and soon to be new prime minister, can only boast.
There is one other difference with Lady Thatcher, of whose political figure Liz Tuss declares herself a devoted admirer. If the Iron Lady came from a conservative family, Liz Truss' parents were staunch leftists. They were the political values under which she was raised, and from which she began to depart from very early on. From supporting the Labor Party in her early years, she later switched to voting for the Liberal Democrat party. In 1996 (at the age of 31), she joined the Conservative Party, where she seems to have found her home.
Career in the Conservative Party
The conservative party is where she has found her more natural surroundings and built her career. She studied law at Oxford University. She worked for Shell and Cable & Wireless while forging her political career, at first unsuccessfully: she lost two elections in a row. At the time, Truss had an extramarital affair with her mentor in the Conservative Party, Mark Field MP. David Cameron was convinced of his worth, and introduced him to his 'Priority List'. In 2010 he entered the House of Commons.
Since then, her career has not slowed down. She has moved from ministry to ministry (Parlamentary Under-Secretary of Education, Environment Secretary, Justice Secretary, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, International Trade Secretary), until she reached her current position as Foreign Secretary. In eight years (2014-2022), and in the cabinet of three prime ministers, he has acquired solid management experience. She will need it.
The crises faced by Liz
She faces several serious crises in the country; some shared with the rest of Europe, and others specific to the United Kingdom. First up will be the energy crisis: it is estimated that British households will have to pay a bill of £5,000 a year (about $6,000) on their energy bill from 2023. Truss has promised to abolish the eco-tax on energy products, but it will take more than that to deal with a situation that the press describes as "catastrophic". The new Prime Minister will make announcements on energy policy next week.
She will also have to deal with the economic crisis, and the most pressing issue, which is inflation. Truss has put an ambivalent measure on the table, that of giving the finance minister greater control over monetary policy. Taking away the Bank of England's independence to force faster inflation control may sound good to those who believe in macroeconomic orthodoxy, but it sets a precedent that, with another government, could prove to be very dangerous.
The British healthcare system, which is almost exclusively public, has been a permanent source of problems for all preceding governments that have attempted to deal with large scale inefficiency and mismanagement. In this case, the National Health System (NHS) is under fire for its management of the pandemic and the flight of doctors and other professionals from the system.
Brexit
Brexit remains one of the most important issues in British politics. Liz Truss defended the country's continued membership of the European Union, but has since stated that her position in favor of 'remain' was a mistake. Even so, she has defended the idea that an understanding should be sought with the former partners, which arouses the deep suspicions of the most Eurosceptic members of her party.
Among other issues, the relationship with the EU has a bearing on policy with respect to Northern Ireland and Scotland. As foreign minister, Truss has pushed for the unilateral scrapping of the Northern Ireland Protocol, a caveat in the trade deal that has led to legal threats from the EU and raised fears of a trade war with the bloc. Scottish public opinion is overwhelmingly pro-European, and Brexit represents a new case of grievance vis-à-vis the Union. Truss lived her early years in Scotland, and perhaps that will give her greater insight to navigate that conflict.
Free Enterprise Group
Truss has the steadfastness in conservative ideas possessed by those who had been on the left. Since entering the House of Commons, Truss has become a member of the Free Enterprise Group, an unofficial organization of parliamentarians in favor of economic freedom. As far as loyalty to the government allows, Truss has disassociated herself from the more authoritarian measures against the pandemic. As a former secretary of commerce, she opposed powerful agricultural interests that demanded a protectionist policy. She may have lost that fight, however, she had no problem defending her free trade principles.
